Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church - Unitarian Universalist

Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church - Unitarian Universalist

Friday E-Mail News           April 9, 2010

Canvass 2010 - 2011 Update:

Officially Canvass ended on Wednesday, March 31, and as we wrap-up the campaign TJMC-UU is well short of its needed funding for next year. As of Wednesday, April 6, we stood at approximately $350,000 pledged from 230 household members and supporters, against a goal of $460,000 from 360 households. We are still waiting to hear from over 120 households who together pledged a total of approximately $90,000 last year and from some of our newest members. The Canvass Committee is working hard to reach these members and supporters and ask them to make their commitment now before the Finance Committee and the Board presents its final budget later this month. As it stands, the Board will be faced with some very difficult decisions and so if you are one of those we are still waiting to hear from, or know someone who may still be considering their level of commitment please act now by sending in your pledge card, or pledge on-line at www.uucharlottesville.org or send an e-mail to pledge@uucharlottesville.org Please, make your contribution today and “Commit to the Future” of TJMC-UU.

Sunday Sermon    9:15 AM + 11:15 AM

April 11, Sunday: Sermon - The After-Life     9:15 AM + 11:15 AM

Rev. Dr. Morris W. Hudgins. Do you believe in the after-life? What is the source of your belief? These are questions Unitarian Universalists have been asking through the centuries. We will look at their answers, and ways to looks at these questions today. After this service there will be a “Congregational Conversation” of the proposed name change for the Thomas Jefferson District. Scott DeVeaux and guests will share special music.

RE Classes

There will be no Religious Education classes this Sunday.

Church This Week

April 11+18+25, Sunday: TnT Lunch     After 11:15 AM service, Local Restaurants

April 11, Sunday: Peace Action - United Nations     12:45 PM, Summit Room 2

Join us for our monthly committee meeting to hear about our name change and discuss ideas for promoting peace, justice and the UN.

April 11+18, Sundays: Congregational Conversations      1 PM, Sanctuary

As many of you have heard, the Thomas Jefferson District Board has proposed a name change for the District. This decision will be made at the Annual Meeting of the District on April 30-May 1 at the Penn Center on St. Helena Island, near Beaufort, South Carolina. There will be Town Hall Meetings scheduled online to participate in this discussion. You can see the details at the District website at tjduua.org. If you are interested in being a delegate at the meeting, please see Pam Philips. Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church, UU will be able to vote on this issue. We will have a “Conversational Conversation” on this issue following the 11:15 AM service on Sunday, April 11+18. A straw poll will be taken at the end of this meeting. Everyone is welcome. The proposed name-change by the District Board are: Atlantic Southeast District, Towne-Jordan District, Toward Justice District, Other names proposed. A summary of these proposed names will be given at the “Congregational Conversation.” We hope you will join us. Lunch will be available for a small fee.

April 11, Sunday: Covenant Facilitators     1 PM, Summit Room 1

April 11, Sunday: Deadline for Donations to the Auction!

Our spring Talents ‘n Treasures Auction is scheduled for Saturday, May 1, from 6-9 PM. Donations can be made through the website or at the auction table in the Social Hall after services. Auction catalogs will be distributed Sunday, April 18. Pre-bidding is scheduled to begin on April 18 as well, so plan to get your bids for events in early! See you there!

April 12, Monday: Twenties and Thirties Worship     7:30 PM, Parlor

April 13, Tuesday: UU World Discussion Group    6:30 PM, Offsite

Meet at C’Ville Coffee, Harris St., to discuss the most recent UU World magazine - letters to the editor, book reviews, articles, advertisements, whatever - discussion questions listed in the back of the magazine can be used to spark our discussions. Contact Holly Dilatush at 960-7177 or holly@dilatush.com for more information.

April 14+21+28 May 5+12+19+26 June 2, Wednesdays, AFD: Transcendentalism    2-4PM, Parlor

Tony Perrino, our Pastoral Care Minister, will lead a group discussion responding to the video of a highly respected college professor and focus on the lives and philosophy of Emerson, Thoreau, Margaret Fuller and other Unitarian figures.  Please register with Lorie Craddock at loriec@embarqmail.com.

April 14+21+28, Wednesdays: Vespers     5:30 PM, Parlor

We begin with a half hour of quiet gathering in Parlor at 5:30 PM, which you may join at any point. Then we have a half hour worship service at 6 PM; please plan to arrive before this service begins. Child care is provided if reservations are received by the Wednesday before. If you have questions, email Lynn Horwitz, Vespers Associate, at lynhorwitz@aol.com. Topics: April 14 - Pay Attention, April 21 - Recycle Replenish, April 28 - Roots and Wings

April 14, Wednesday: Undoing Racism     6:30 PM, Social Hall

Everyone who has participated in the City Dialogue on Race is invited to attend and discuss their experience in this endeavor. Our goal will be to discover if we have an action plan as a church to offer to this effort.

April 14+28, Wednesday: Back Page Writers     7 PM, Green Room

April 14, Wednesday: IT      7 PM, Summit Room 1

April 14: AFD: Lessons from the Light        7 PM, S1 & Green Room

April 15+22+29, Thursdays: Active Minds     1 PM, Parlor

April 15+22+29, Thursday: Voices of Community     6:45 PM, Parlor

Come join us as prepare music for our special Sundays in April and for our All-Music Services May 16.

April 15, Thursday: UU Christian Fellowship      7 PM, Summit Room 2

Jean and George Sorrells-Jones will lead this service.

April 18, Sunday: Sermon - The Subtle Sins: Anxiety    9:15 AM + 11:15 AM

Rev. Tony Perrino. He will begin an intermittent series of sermons on “The Subtle Sins” with an examination of “Anxiety.” He explains that like the “little foxes” of Biblical warning, ”these subtle sins steal into our hearts and lay waste our lives.” Voices of Community, our Adult Choir, will share songs of celebration and community by Brian Tate.

April 18, Sunday: Social Action Collection - Mental Health America (MHA)

April 18+25, May 2, Sundays: A New Photo Directory is Coming Soon!

We will be taking pictures for our new church photo directory in the Social Hall May 20 -22. Representatives from the Membership Committee will be available between services on Sunday, April 18+25, and May 2 to sign church members up for a specific photo time slot. For any questions, please contact Jean Newland at kipandjean@gmail.com.

April 18, Sunday: TJMC United Nations     3 PM, Parlor

The film, Soldiers of Peace, which was a hit recently at a United Nations film festival in New York, will be shown at the April meeting of the local chapter of the United Nations Association in the TJMC Parlor at 3 PM on Sunday, April 18. The film, narrated by Michael Douglas, features fourteen stories from around the world on positive actions for peace. The meeting is free and open to the public.

Church Notes & Requests for Help

Ministerial Search Committee Selection: As you are aware, the Leadership Development Committee has begun the work of selecting candidates for a new Search Committee to search for a settled minister. We expect that this Search Committee will serve for one year, and we are planning to have the slate of candidates to present at the May congregational meeting. We have a preliminary list of potential nominees and are starting our research to put together another excellent group of individuals. We would like to request again that members of the congregation forward nominations of possible candidates for the new Search Committee. The Search Committee job description is available today by the door of the Sanctuary, and it will be posted on the bulletin board. Any church member may nominate himself or herself, or may nominate another church member. Please forward all nominations for the Search Committee to the Leadership Development Committee at Leadership@uucharlottesville.org or put a note in the Leadership Development mailbox in the mailroom. Please include a brief statement regarding the qualifications of the nominee, and contact information.

Current Year Pledges: Pledges for the current fiscal year are beginning to come in below the amount budgeted for the year, and for the last three months our church expenses have exceeded our revenues. If you are not up to date on your pledge payments, please make your payments as soon as you are able. If you need to check about how much you have already paid towards your pledge, please contact Trudy Rohm at pledge@uucharlottesville.org or contact the Church Office.

Safety Alert: Unfortunately, a car parked in one of our lots was broken into a short time ago. Please be sure to lock your car and hide any valuables that you leave in there. Be sure to let the Church Office know if your car has been tampered with.

Summit House Lock Box: The combination to the Summit House Lock Box will be changed on Tuesday,      June 1. Contact the Church Office for the new combination.

ShopWithScrip! Attention K-Mart shoppers! And pizza lovers! And sports aficionados! And fashionistas! We have some neglected GiftCards at the Scrip table for Kmart, Domino’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Old Navy and TJMaxx that need to be purchased and used, so if you patronize these retailers, stop by on Sunday to stock up. While you are there, check out the selection of other cards available at the table and via online ordering as well. Remember that each time you use Scrip GiftCards instead of other payment methods to make your ordinary purchases, TJMC is given 2-15% of your purchase. If everyone used Scrip, we would be given over $100,000 each year. Have You bought Your Scrip this week?

Only Two more UUStars Studio Teachers are needed to finish out the year. Teachers are needed at 11:15 AM from late April thru May. The theme of the lessons will be “Spring Awakens” and the lesson plans will be available soon. Please stop by the RE table in the Social Hall after Sunday Services to sign up.

Religious Education Supply Wish List: stickers and poster paints. Please leave donations in the marked bin at the Edgewood Lane entrance. 

Church Office needs several two drawer filing cabinets (approximately 18-25 inches deep, 28 inches or less high, may be 15-36 inches wide), beige or putty in color preferably and able to lock would be great. Please contact the Church Office if you can help at 293-8179.

Church Upcoming Dates

April 20, Tuesday: UUppity Women - Yoga & Spirituality     7 PM, Parlor

Come enliven your body and spirit! We will do gentle movement to ease the spine, wake up breath, make space for spirit, and listen inwardly. You will not need special clothes and do not even have to get on the floor if you do not want to! We will be led by Alex McGee, who serves as Affiliate Minister of Spiritual Direction at TJMC and has been teaching yoga since 1996. Contact uuppities@uucharlottesville.org.

April 21, Thursday: Environmental Action     7 PM, Parlor

Celebrate Earth Day with us as we continue our work on our Twelve Action Plan projects, in particular focusing on carpooling to church, a tour of the Quality Community Center’s Urban Farm in downtown Charlottesville, and a June 12-13 Mountaintop Removal Site Visit to Kayford Mountain, WV.

April 22, Thursday: Calling all Women Singers     6:45 PM, Parlor

Come join us as we prepare some simple songs for our Earth Day Sunday, April 25. We will sing several easy-to-learn songs from the group “Libana.” Please contact KaeRenae Mitchell, Director of Music, if you are interested so we can have the music ready for you. Contact or call 293-8179, extension 4# or krmitchell@embarqmail.com. Thanks!

April 23, Sunday: PACEM’s 2010 Volunteer Recognition “Shelter From the Storm”   5-7 PM, The Haven

PACEM wants to thank you for contributing to our community homeless shelter through stormy conditions and cold nights. Enjoy food, music, and friendship. Hear how the snowstorm churches survived. To be held at The Haven, First and Market Streets. Contact: Marie Lynch at marie@pacemshelter.org.

April 25, Sunday: Sermon - Our Sacred Trees: A Celebration of Earth Day     9:15 AM + 11:15 AM

Green Sanctuary Task Force & Rev. Dr. Morris W. Hudgins. We will be celebrating the fortieth anniversary of Earth Day. Climate change may be the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity - an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future.

April 26, Monday: TnT Meditation     7:30 PM, Green Room

April 26, Monday: Administrative Council     7 PM, Social Hall

April 27, Tuesday: Social Action     5:30 PM, Parlor

April 28, Wednesday: UUGuys     7 PM, Summit Room 1

May 1, Saturday: Labyrinth Walk     1-2 PM, Outdoors (Rain location: Social Hall)

We will be celebrating World Labyrinth Day by “walking as one at 1″ - please join us! Live harp and flute music will accompany our walk.

May 1, Saturday: Talents ‘n Treasures Auction     6-9 PM, All Church

May 8+15, Saturdays: AFD: Understanding Dreams      10 AM-2 PM, Parlor

May 9, Sunday: Child Dedication      11:15 AM Service

This service will include a Child Dedication. If you are interested in having your child dedicated in this or another service please contact Rev. Dr. Morris Hudgins.

May 15, Saturday: RE Teacher Appreciation Dinner                 5-7 PM, Social Hall

May 25, Tuesday: GSA     7:30 PM, Parlor

Community News

Transylvanian Adventure! Join Barbara and Kim Beach at the twentieth anniversary celebration of the UU Partner Church Council in Kolozsvar (a.k.a. Cluj-Napoka), Romania, July 22-24. Many American UUs will join with Transylvanian Unitarians for this historic event. We will also visit TJMCs partner church in Oltheviz, with minister Rev. Istvan Torok, on Sunday, July 25. Tours of Unitarian sites in this fascinating land can be arranged. (Too far away?  Just go to Budapest and keep going eastward a ways!) For more information write Kim at gkbeach@aol.com or call him in Madison County at 540-948-5317.